Systems are known in which ultrashort laser pulses are used to generate and coherently detect terahertz (THz) radiation. Most types of THz systems use single laser pulses to generate broad-band THz radiation. Time-domain, terahertz spectroscopy has been shown to provide a useful analytical tool for measuring properties of molecular vapors, both pure and in mixture with other gases, such as air (see M. van Exter, et al., Optics Letters, Vol 14, p. 1128 (1989)). The use of THz radiation reveals certain features which are not afforded by the use of laser radiation lying in the xe2x80x9cusualxe2x80x9d range of 200 nm to 10 microns.
X. -C. Zhang et al., teach a THz sensing system which employs electro-optic crystals, such as ZnTe, to serve as THz receivers, these having the advantage of higher detection bandwidth (see Q. Wu and(X. -C. Zhang, Appl. Phys. Lett, Vol 67, p. 2523 (1995)). The generation of narrow-band THz radiation can give significant advantages over broadband THz generation in certain spectroscopic applications. Continuous wave narrow-band THz radiation can be generated and detected by photomixing two CW lasers in a THz transceiver, such as a photoconductive antenna, as demonstrated by Verghese et al. (see S. Verghese, et al., Appl. Phys. Lett, Vol. 73, p. 3824 (1998)). Moderately narrow-band THz bursts can be generated by exciting a THz emitter with a train of optical pulses spaced to the desired THz frequency as taught by Siders et al. (see C. W. Siders, et al., Opt. Lett., Vol 24, p. 241 (1999)), and Weling et al. who excites a semiconductor surface (see A. S. Weling, et al., Appl. Phys. Lett, Vol. 64, p. 137 (1994)). Alternatively, Norris demonstrates a method in which a single laser pulse can be used to generate narrow-band THz radiation directly by optical rectification in a periodically poled nonlinear crystal such as PPLN (periodically poled lithium niobate), by exploiting the group-velocity walkoff between the optical pulse and the THz radiation in the crystal (see T. -S. Lee, T. Meade, V. Perlin, H. Winful, T. B. Norris, A. Galvanauskas, xe2x80x9cGeneration of narrow-band terahertz radiation via optical rectification of femtosecond pulses in periodically poled lithium niobate,xe2x80x9d Appl. Phys. Lett., Vol. 76, p. 2505 (2000)). In another method which does not employ ultrafast lasers, T. Heinz et al. teach a THz generation/detection system employing two detuned CW lasers to generate THz radiation at the beat frequency between the two lasers (see A. Nahatha, James T. Yardley, Tony, F. Heinz, xe2x80x9cFree-space electro-optic detection of continuous-wave terahertz radiation,xe2x80x9d Appl. Phys. Lett., Vol. 75, p. 2524 (1999)). The same two lasers activate the THz receiver, providing narrow-band coherent detection. This system provides very narrow-band THz radiation with xcx9cMHz linewidths, limited only by the absolute frequency stability of the two CW lasers, and have potential for linewidths less than 1 kHz.
CW heterodyne methods provide superior frequency resolution in the THz measurement system, however suffer the drawbacks of very low efficiency, as well as fringe ambiguity. While these systems can give sub-wavelength resolution, the larger scale TOF (time-of-flight) information is lost. The use of ultrashort pulses to generate and detect THz radiation provides useful TOF information. Furthermore, the use of ultrashort pulses can ultimately result in greater efficiency of THz emission, especially in cases such as that demonstrated by Norris, where the optical pulse is re-used many times in the generation process. As extensions of the THz sensing technology, various systems have been devised which combine THz generation/detection with imaging to give imaging in the THz frequency range. B. Hu et al. teach a THz imaging system which uses single, broad-band THz pulses repetitively while the sample under test is raster scanned through the THz beam (see B. B. Hu and M. C. Nuss, Appl. Phys. Lett, Vol. 20, p. 1716 (1995); see U.S. Pat. No. 5,623,145; and see U.S. Pat. No. 5,710,430). Because this system relies on THz waveform measurement, time delay scanning was required in addition to the raster scanning, both techniques, in turn, requiring the use of a large number of laser shots to complete the measurement even if no signal averaging was used. This type of system generally requires at least several minutes to complete an imaging measurement. Additionally, if spectral information about the image is desired, then complex signal analysis such as Fourier or wavelet transforms are required. A system for performing THz imaging with a single laser shot was first demonstrated by Q. Wu et al. This system works by using an EO field sensor crystal to impart THz image information on an optical beam (an ultrashort laser pulse), and then imaging the optical beam with an optical imaging device such as a CCD camera (see Q. Wu, T. D. Hewitt, and X. -C. Zhang, Appl. Phys. Lett., Vol. 69, 1026 (1996)).
The current invention combines advantages of tunable narrow-band THz generation and coherent detection, with the unique properties of ultrashort pulses, those being single-shot capability, TOF information, high pulse intensity, and greater efficiency of THz generation. The current invention provides the additional advantage of using two THz frequencies to give a differential measurement providing greatly enhanced sensitivity and immunity to laser fluctuations. Additionally, the narrowband THz emission can be adapted to single-shot THz imaging systems, which commonly use only a single, broadband THz pulse.